GP PRO and TOTO USA Introduce the Restroom of the Future

In recent years, automation has become more and more prevalent within the commercial restroom, as evidenced by an array of touchless fixtures such as automatic toilets, faucets, and air care systems, hands-free dryers, and automatic soap and paper towel dispensers. Now, sensing technology, the foundation of self-driving cars and robotic floor scrubbers, is making its entrance into the away-from-home restroom, elevating the restroom from automated to innovative.

Restroom of the Future

But a restroom transforms from innovative to intelligent when that sensing technology, embedded in that vast array of touchless fixtures, is connected—when various pieces of restroom equipment aggregate real time data and communicate it via a single user interface to facility managers and custodial staff. Is such intelligence a vision of the future? Perhaps once it was. But now, due to a collaboration between GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific, and TOTO USA to deliver the industry’s most complete connected restroom management solution, that vision is reality.

The industry-first collaboration between the two recognized leaders is enabled by the KOLO™ Smart Monitoring System, winner of this year’s ISSA Innovation Award in the Services & Technology category. The system is GP PRO’s new open architecture communication platform that provides reliable, customizable and secure monitoring and analysis of connected away-from-home restroom fixtures.

“GP PRO has invested two and a half years developing what we believe is the most dependable, insightful and scalable smart restroom communication system available to help facility managers deliver a better restroom experience,” said Mike Slawson, vice president and general manager, Restroom Services and Connected Devices for GP PRO. “We are thrilled to introduce this industry-changing innovation, and we are equally excited to work with TOTO as this collaboration pairs two industry leaders known for reliability in a quest to create an unprecedented vision for the restroom of the future.”

Using secure, proprietary, cloud-based wireless technologies and cutting-edge sensors and sensing technology, the KOLO system allows for timely and customized communication between connected restroom fixtures and facility managers through a mobile and web application. As exemplified through its collaboration with TOTO, the KOLO system’s open architecture enables it to integrate with smart devices beyond GP PRO’s core product portfolio to provide a more robust and complete connected restroom management solution.

“GP PRO is not only a leader in paper products, but, like TOTO, is a leader in innovation—the kind of innovation that powerfully solves real customer problems,” said Shinya Tamura, CEO of TOTO USA. “We are excited to integrate GP PRO’s KOLO system into our smart sensor hydropower faucets and flush valves and, together, connect the entire bathroom ecosystem so as to improve the bathroom experience for facility managers, custodial staff, and users alike.”

The KOLO system provides a number of key benefits to facility managers, including:

• Improved User Satisfaction: Custodial staff can remotely monitor and analyze restroom conditions in real time so they can quickly and proactively respond to potential problems and outages, which helps improve user satisfaction and reduce complaints.
• Greater Labor Efficiency: Consistent tracking and monitoring across the entire restroom environment within multiple facilities means the right staff are performing the right tasks at the right time, which helps improve labor efficiency and productivity.
• Improved Sustainability: The KOLO system monitors paper and soap levels to help avoid partial paper rolls or soap bottles being discarded by well-intentioned staff too early. When paired with TOTO plumbing fixtures, the KOLO system also monitors water usage to identify potential leaks and overflows.

The KOLO system is currently available on a number of GP PRO dispensers, including select enMotion® and enMotion® Flex paper towel dispensers, Compact Quad® tissue dispensers, and enMotion® soap dispensers, as well as on TOTO’s EcoPower® sensor faucets and flush valves.

To learn more about the KOLO Smart Monitoring System and GP PRO’s and TOTO’s commitment to providing a better restroom experience, visit booth #3427 throughout the ISSA Show North America 2018.

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